Paisley



Jan. 31, 1956 T. PAISLEY 2,732,555

FINGER SUPPORT FOR BOWLING Filed Feb. 5, 195a l; INVENTOR. B 7'4g/0/Paisley BY E2; as [Zia/9,44%

United States Patent Oflice 2,732,555 Batented Jan. 31, 1956 FINGERSUPPORT FOR BOWLING Taylor Paisley, Femdale, Mich.

Application February 5, 1953,.Serial No. 335,194

5 Claims. (Cl. 2-41) This invention relates to finger supports and morepar-.

ticularly to an improved finger support particularly adapted for use inthe game of bowling.

As is well known, the bowling balls conventionally used in the game ofbowling are provided with two or three spaced passageways which extendinwardly fromthe periphery thereof and facilitate gripping the ball, theball being gripped by inserting the thumb and a portion of either one ortwo fingers in the spaced passageways.

Assuming that two fingers and the thumb are utilized to grip the ball,the passagewaysareso spaced-that substantially all of the bowlers thumband the outer end portions of the middle and ring fingers extend intothe passageways while the palm of the-hand, the inner portions of themiddle and ring fingers, and the index and little fingers extend alongthe periphery of the ball. When the ball is so gripped, the middle andringfingers are bent at an angle of approximately 90 degrees at theintermediate joints in such fingers,or the joints just outwardly of thejoint between the inner ends of the fingers and the palm portion of thehand.

It has been found that in order to consistently knock down the maximumnumber of bowling pins, the ball should be rolled in such'a mannerthatit curves inwardly toward the center of the bowling. alley during itstravel toward the spaced pins. In order to obtain such. a curvilinearpath of travel, it is desirable to impart a rotary motion to the ball asit' leaves the hand and it is also well known that the preferred methodof obtaining such rotary motion is to release the ball in such a mannerthat the thumb is pulled out of its passageway-firstwhile the middle andring fingers remain bent, with the outeriend portions extending. intotheir respective passageways. The ball then rolls from the middleand-ring fingers as it is released and the. rotary and linear sliding.motions of the ball combine to provide a curvilinear path of travel.

Howevenmany bowlers have a tendencyto straighten theirmiddleand ringfingers before they release theball, with the result that only avtranslatory motion'is imparted to the ball, thus makingit diflicult toconsistently knock down the maximum number ofipins.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a fingersupport particularly adapted to hold selected fingers in a bent positionso as to prevent the bowler from inadvertentlystraightening such fingersprior to the release of the ball.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved finger supportof the indicated'character which is simple in construction, economicalto manufacture, durable and reliable in-operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improvedfinger'support which may be readily adapted for either right hand orleft hand use-andwhichmay be used-without marring or otherwise damagingthe "bowling ball, or interfering with the hand grip on the ball.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a lightweight fingersupport incorporating improved means for releasably securing suchsupport to a finger of the bowlers hand.

The above as well as other objects and-advantages will becomeapparentfrom the following description and the appended claims. A preferredembodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawingthroughout the several views of which corresponding reference charactersdesignate corresponding'parts and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the present invention secured toselected fingers of a bowlers hand gripping a bowling ball;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of a finger support of this invention;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of thestructure illustrated in Fig; 3 takenonthe line 4-4 thereof;

Fig. 5 is an end view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 3, with theretaining means in the open position;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 3, withportions in section, and showing the retaining means in the closedposition; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the finger support illustratedin Figs. 1-6, showing the finger sup port positioned on. a bent fingerand the strap and connecting member in the closed position.

Referring to the drawing and more particularly to Fig. 1, a conventionalbowling ball 10 is shown having spaced passageways 12, 14 and 16 formedtherein in the conventional manner. It will be understood that thepresent invention is applicable for use in bowling with balls havingeither two or three passageways and the ball 10 is shown with threepassageways for the purposes of illustration.

The ball is gripped in such a manner thatsubstantially all of the thumbof the bowlers hand extends into the passageway 12 while the palm of thehand, the index and little fingers, and the portion of the ring andmiddle fingers between the'palm and the joints-in the fingers adjacentthe palm extend along the periphery of the ball. The middle and ringfingers are bent at an angle of approximately degrees at the'joints inthe fingersremote from the ends thereof and the outer end portions ofsuch fingers extend into the'passa'geways 14 and 16.

The present invention provides" means for supporting the middle and ringfingers in the bent position so that the bowlerwill not inadvertentlystraighten such fingers before he releases the ball, To thisend, asupport member, generally designated 15, is fitted on each of suchfingers. Each support member is formedof a single sheet of relativelythin material, stamped or otherwise formed inthe shape of an elongated,taperedcup having relatively long curvedend walls 18 and 20 shaped tofit the dorsal surfaces of the finger when the finger is bent and joinedat the apex by an integral portion 22. The end walls 18 and 20 extendangularly inapproximately perpendicular planes and the sides of the endwalls are integrally'joined by spaced side walls 24 and 26 whichfunctionto prevent the end walls from spreading apart as pressure isexerted thereon bythe finger. A recessed portion 25 is formed in thefree edge of each side wall 24 and 26m provide'clearance between suchWalls and the periphery of the ball 101-when' the support'is fitted onthefinger. It will be understood that straps or other reinforcingmembers (not shown) could be provided'to reinforce the end walls so asto enable such walls to withstand the forces'exerted thereon. Thesupport'member may beformed from any material, such as metal or rust orcorrode when in contact with moisture or perspiration.

Since the outer portion of the end wall 18 extends partially into one ofthe finger passageways, the walls, in cross-section, are snfiicientlythin to enter such passageways when positioned on the finger withoutmarring or otherwise damaging the material from which the bowling ballis formed and without interfering with the users normal handgrip of theball. Such a thin-sectioned construction also permits the support to beshaped, within limits, to fit fingers of various sizes and shapes. Thesupport members may, however, be manufactured in some graduated sizes.

For the purpose of releasably securing the finger support to the finger,so as to maintain such finger in a bent position with the walls 18 and20 abutting the dorsal surfaces of the finger on each side of the fingerjoint, one end portion of a strap 23 is fixed to the side Wall 24 by anysuitable means, such as the rivet 30, the strap being sufficiently longto extend around the finger. A connecting member, generally designated32 and formed of a single piece of flat type wire, is slidably fitted onthe strap 23 and performs the double function of adjusting the effectivelength of the strap and releasably securing the free end of the strap tothe opposite side 26 of the support member. The strap may, of course, bemade of any suitable material, and other types of connecting orfastening members may be used, but the illustrated types have been foundsatisfactory and desirable. A portion 34 of the wire forming theconnecting member extends substantially parallel with the axis of thestrap 23 while the other portion of the wire is bent in the form of asquare wave having spaced transversely extending portions 36, 38, 40 and42 integrally joined by longitudinally extending portions 44, 46 and 48.The free end of the straight portion 34 is bent in the form of a hook 50adapted to releasably engage an aperture 51 formed in the side wall 26adjacent the apex of the support member while the free end of the squarewave portion is spliced to the straight portion 34 at a position near,but spaced from, the hook 50.

The strap 28 is interlaced through the oppositely directed, coplanarrecesses in the square wave portion of the connecting member 32 so as tooverlie the alternate, transversely extending portions 36 and 40 and tounderlie the alternate transversely extending portions 38 and 42, whilethe longitudinally extending portions 44, 46 and 48 and the straightportion 32 prevent transverse movement of the strap relative to theconnecting member 32. When tension is applied to the strap 28, thetransversely extending portions 36, 38, 40 and 42 of the connectingmember 32 resist longitudinal movement of the connecting member relativeto the strap.

From the above description, it will be appreciated that the connectingmember may be positioned at any desired location on the strap 28 afterwhich the hook portion 50 is positioned in engagement with the aperture51 in the side wall 26 so that the strap snugly fits the finger andretains the support member on the finger. As shown in Fig. 7, thesupport member 15 is fitted on the finger when the finger is in a bentposition, the letter A designating that portion of the finger which isnearest the knuckles while the letter B designates that portion of thefinger which is nearest the fingernail. The support member thus supportsthe finger so that the bowler will not inadvertently straighten thefinger before he releases the ball. After the support member 15 has beenpositioned on the finger, the hook portion 50 of the connecting member32 is then inserted in the aperture 51 in the side wall 26 so as tomaintain the strap 28 snugly against the finger and retain the supportmember on the finger.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed, it will be understood that various changes and modificationsmay be made without de' parting from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A finger support comprising a pair of end walls joined at one endthereof, said end walls extending in angular relationship inapproximately perpendicular planes, a side wall extending between andrigid with said end walls, and means for releasably securing saidsupport to a finger whereby the inner surfaces of each of said end wallssimultaneously abut the dorsal surfaces of the finger.

2. A finger support comprising a pair of angularly extending end wallsintegrally joined at one end thereof and lying in approximatelyperpendicular planes, a pair of spaced side walls interconnecting theside portions of said end walls, and means for releasably securing saidsupport to a finger with the inner surfaces of each of said end wallssimultaneously abutting the dorsal surfaces of the finger.

3. A finger support comprising a pair of angularly extending end wallsintegrally joined at one end thereof and lying in approximatelyperpendicular planes, a pair of spaced side walls interconnecting theside portions of said end walls, said walls formed of relatively rigid,thin-sectioned material which may be shaped within limits to fit fingersof various sizes, and means for releasably securing said support to afinger with the inner surfaces of each of said end walls simultaneouslyabutting the dorsal surfaces of the finger.

4. A finger support including, in combination, a pair of angularlyextending end walls integrally joined at one end thereof and extendingin substantially perpendicular planes, each of said end walls shaped tofit the dorsal surfaces of a finger, a pair of spaced side wallsintegrally joining the side portions of said end walls, and means forreleasably securing said support to a finger with the inner surfaces ofeach of said end walls simultaneously abutting the dorsal surfaces ofthe finger, said last mentioned means comprising a connecting memberformed of a single piece of wire, a portion of the wire extending in asubstantially straight line and having a hook on the free end thereofadapted to engage an aperture in one of said side walls, the otherportion of the wire bent to form a plurality of adjacent, open-sided,oppositely directed recesses lying in a substantially fiat plane, and anelongated flexible strap interlaced through the recesses formed by thewire, one end of said strap fixed to the other of said side walls, saidconnecting member performing the double function of adjusting theeffective length of said strap and releasably securing one end portionof said strap to one of said side walls.

5. A finger support including, in combination, a pair of angularlyextending end walls integrally joined at one end thereof and extendingin substantially perpendicular planes, each of said end walls shaped tofit the dorsal surfaces of a finger, a pair of spaced side wallsintegrally joining the side portions of said end walls, each of saidside walls having a recess in the free edge thereof, and means forreleasably securing said support to a finger with the inner surfaces ofeach of said end walls simultaneously abutting the dorsal surfaces ofthe finger, said last mentioned means comprising a connecting memberformed of a single piece of wire, a portion of the wire extending in asubstantially straight line and having a hook on the free end thereofadapted to engage an aperture in one of said side walls, the otherportion of the wire bent to form a plurality of adjacent, open-sided,oppositely directed recesses lying in a substantially fiat plane, and anelongated flexible strap interlaced through the recesses formed by thewire, one end of said strap fixed to the other of said side walls, saidconnecting member performing the double function of adjusting theeifective length of said strap and releasably securing one end portionof said strap to one of said side walls.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS Budington July 16, 1872 Viickers Feb. 19,1884 Van Wagener Mar. 18, 1884 White Apr. 16, 1912 George Apr. 26, 1921

